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An estimated 265,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer leaked from a farmers cooperative in Red Oak, Iowa, early this week, and most of it went into the East Nishnabotna River, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. An investigation into the extent of the environmental damage is pending, but the crop fertilizer killed fish […]

The post Massive amount of crop fertilizer spills into SW Iowa river appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Kansas City-area lawmakers want to give a sales tax break to developers expected to expand a federal facility that builds non-nuclear components to “modernize and refurbish” the nation’s nuclear stockpile.  A bipartisan group of Missouri lawmakers from the metro are promoting legislation to offer a sales tax exemption on materials needed to expand the National […]

The post Missouri lawmakers push tax break to expand Kansas City nuclear weapons facility appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A Republican running for the Missouri House says he’s being sued by state Rep. Justin Hicks, the lawmaker he’s hoping to replace, for publishing information on a campaign website about a 2010 order of protection issued when a woman accused Hicks of choking her. Hicks is leaving the legislature to run for Congress. The lawsuit […]

The post GOP candidate says Missouri lawmaker is suing him over disclosure of court records appeared first on Missouri Independent.

The first – and perhaps only – chance for the public to tell Missouri House members what they think of Gov. Mike Parson’s $52.7 billion budget proposal will be Thursday. The timing is upsetting Democrats on the House Budget Committee, who said public input should have occurred weeks ago. Scheduling one hearing on all 17 […]

The post Missouri House to hold public hearing on governor’s $52.7 billion budget proposal appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a bill that effectively bans TikTok unless the company splits from its Chinese owner ByteDance because of national security concerns. The 352-65 vote occurred just a week after lawmakers introduced the bipartisan proposal and days after the powerful House Committee on Energy and Commerce unanimously advanced the […]

The post U.S. House votes to ban TikTok unless it is sold by China-controlled parent appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Business owners, CEOs and a steelworkers’ union official urged lawmakers Tuesday to quickly pass a tax policy bill that has been stalled in the U.S. Senate since the end of January. The witnesses invited to testify on manufacturing taxation before the Senate Committee on Finance told the panel that the proposal, which includes […]

The post Business owners, union leader urge U.S. Senate to move ahead soon on stalled tax package appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — Senators on the U.S. Senate Rules Committee expressed concerns Tuesday that poll workers may need protection and that artificial intelligence could interfere in the fall elections. Leading members of the committee said AI has already been used to promote disinformation that has interfered with elections, while elections workers have for years experienced intimidation. […]

The post AI disinformation, threats to poll workers top U.S. Senate panel list of election worries appeared first on Missouri Independent.

When Terrence Wise explains Missouri’s initiative petition process to his children, he brings up one particularly remarkable play by the Kansas City Chiefs. The famous 13 second overtime win against the Buffalo Bills secured the Chiefs a place in the 2023 Super Bowl. As a result of the win, the NFL changed its overtime rules. […]

The post GOP senator urges Missouri House to reinstate ‘ballot candy’ into initiative petition bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A new poll shows plurality of Missourians support restoring abortion rights as they existed under Roe v. Wade, but a large undecided group holds the key to victory.  The St. Louis University/YouGov Poll conducted in February found that 44% of those surveyed would vote for abortion rights after hearing the ballot language, while 37% were […]

The post Missourians back initiative to restore abortion rights by small margin, new poll finds appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri Senate Democrats ended their filibuster Tuesday of a bill that seeks to expand the state’s K-12 tax-credit scholarship program — agreeing to let the legislation come to a vote after Republicans added provisions boosting public school funding and teacher retention efforts. The bill receiving first-round approval by a 20-13 vote in the Senate Tuesday […]

The post Missouri Senate strikes deal to boost public-school funding in private-school tax-credit bill appeared first on Missouri Independent.

House Speaker Dean Plocher testified Tuesday evening before a bipartisan committee investigating him over allegations of ethical misconduct.  Appearing alongside his attorneys — Lowell Pearson and David Steelman — Plocher’s testimony took place behind-closed doors. House rules require proceedings of the ethics committee to be confidential, with none of the discussions, testimony or evidence gathered […]

The post Dean Plocher testifies to the Missouri House ethics panel investigating him appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Former U.S. Justice Department special counsel Robert Hur on Tuesday defended from both Republican and Democratic critics on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee his conclusion that President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents likely broke federal law but was not worthy of prosecution. Few new facts emerged from the acrimonious five-hour hearing. But Hur’s conclusions […]

The post Former special counsel in Biden classified documents probe attacked by both sides in hearing appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — White House budget director Shalanda Young pressed senators Tuesday to pass legislation implementing core elements of President Joe Biden’s latest budget request, saying it would boost the economy and programs that help working Americans. Young told the Senate Budget Committee during a two-hour hearing the tax, spending and economic policies in the proposal […]

The post White House budget director says Biden plan would ‘give working families a shot’ appeared first on Missouri Independent.

For Missourians with felony convictions, disenfranchisement laws that restrict voting rights due to a past or current felony conviction stand as a barrier to democracy. Currently, Missouri law denies voting rights to individuals during imprisonment and throughout the probation or parole period following a felony conviction. Senate Bill 1199, sponsored by Sen. Curtis Trent, and […]

The post Restoring voting rights in Missouri is a step toward justice and public safety appeared first on Missouri Independent.

A bill that would add child sex trafficking and statutory rape to the crimes eligible for the death penalty was debated Monday in a Missouri Senate committee — despite conflicting with U.S. Supreme Court precedent. The legislation is sponsored by state Sen. Mike Moon, an Ash Grove Republican who said Monday that one of the […]

The post Missouri bill would expand death penalty to certain sex crimes against children appeared first on Missouri Independent.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden released his budget request for the upcoming fiscal year Monday, calling on Congress to stick to the spending agreement brokered last year and to revamp tax laws so that the “wealthy pay their fair share.” The $7.266 trillion budget request doesn’t actually spend any money since Congress controls the power […]

The post Biden calls for expanded child tax credit, taxes on wealthy in $7.2 trillion budget plan appeared first on Missouri Independent.

Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher arranged a series of meetings in the state Capitol last month between GOP legislators and an out-of-state technology vendor, inviting renewed bipartisan criticism of the embattled Republican as he remains the focus of an ongoing ethics investigation.  The unusual arrangement — including a meeting with GOP leadership that took place […]

The post Dean Plocher draws new scrutiny over series of Capitol meetings with out-of-state vendor appeared first on Missouri Independent.

In 2021, two years before California enacted new hog confinement standards for pork to be sold within its borders, Seaboard Foods said it would “no longer sell certain whole pork products” in the state. Passed in 2018, California’s Farm Animal Confinement Initiative, often referred to as Proposition 12, required pork producers to give sows, or […]

The post With California’s Prop 12 now law, pork producers adapt while lobbying groups continue to fight appeared first on Missouri Independent.

There is an urgent need to make civic education available in our schools to help protect and strengthen our republic and its democratic form of government. Civic learning and participation should be a priority in Missouri and nationwide. This week, Civic Learning Week, has been set aside to emphasize the importance of every citizen having […]

The post Civic education is needed in Missouri — and the nation — more than ever appeared first on Missouri Independent.

From 2017 to 2021, congenital syphilis cases rose 219% across the country; in Missouri, they rose 593%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Getty Images).

The post Health professionals push to reduce congenital syphilis infections killing Missouri babies appeared first on Missouri Independent.